I have had enough of the debate about an x86 version of OS4, it's time to end it.

Forget the arguments about who wants it and who doesn't. This thread is about making sure it's possible, because as we all know it would be a waste of time discussing something that wasn't possible.

The issue is money to develop the x86 port of OS4. Hyperion are not rich enough to do it themselves, and they certainly aren't going to get much richer from OS4 sales in their current state. AInc aren't going to help us out. So the only other option is investment, from the community and outside sources.

Let's set the target amount for this bounty at $500,000 USD, figure isn't based on anything more than a conservative estimate, porting to x86 will require a lot of money over a number of years (if you think it will be as easy as the OSX x86 switch you might want to look into how portability was part of Apple's goals for OSX from the beginning: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Intel_transition ).

I'm not asking for money right now, but I'm asking you to pledge towards this $500,000 USD goal. Pledge what you think you would be comfortable paying towards the x86 OS4 bounty. I'll keep a track of these pledges so we can have a running total.

I'll start by pledging $700. Your turn.

Feeling poor Amigans? Forget the bounty target for now then, let's just see how much money we have to play with. Start pledging. Total is at $700 so far.

@HenryCase

I'm in for $400 even stretch to 7 if given enough notice.

By the way, I know there is an issue here against x86 for whatever reason. x86 codebase was suggested, IF there is an alternative that has a similar cost and future cycle, I'm willing for that too. I am not in-love with x86 or anyting and I am saddened that 68k went bust in competition but this is the case. i would like to see a future platform and development for AOS. If x86 is that way, yes please, count me in.

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@HenryCase

$100 is all I could pledge, as I'm broke.

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@SHADES

x86, yes... Any x86... NO... If it was to come AOS to x86 I'd want to see it as a strictly locked system... like the IntelMacs... Special hardware, possibly one company building it with special-manifactured hardware for this machine and this machine only... like a... "controlled environment"... That could work imo.

@SHADES

Quote:

By the way, I know there is an issue here against x86 for whatever reason

One reason I've read that you fail to address as of yet is the licensing agreement, which lacks that option.
If your argument is that they already broke the original licensing agreement, ergo why not go a step further, then you really are spinning your wheels until you hear a legal opinion on whether that represents a greater risk than what has already been done regarding Hyperions' current interpretation of the original contract.

#6

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@SHADES

I am opossite to x86 porting.

Why do not talk to see Firefox,OpenOffice or COMMERCIAL OS4 games for our OS4 systems?
It doesn't make sense for me an x86 port it is better to think to get better with that we have and the road is PowerPC,that's my opinion.

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@newlight

PPC IS a way to go, but the problem as I see it is that the PPC miggys are so damn expensive... If x86 made it possible for more users, why not?

(I'd love to have a SAM with OS4, but... are someone willing to donate it for me ?)

@HenryCase

I`m in and £800 english pounds if that realy can happen i will put bit more in..
instead of me getting a slow samboard i put my £800 in this x86 port 4 OS4.
thanks..

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@serk118

Only 498,000 dollars to go....

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@HenryCase

Money is not the main obstacle.

@HenryCase

At least yous started with a reasonable number goal, $500,000. But if you consider 1000 donors, that's $500 each. How many Amiga users do you think there are today? Then what, we have to pay retail price to buy the product when it's ready, another $140 rounding off AmigaKit's current OS4.1 price? So I'd have to pay $640 for a copy of OS4-x86? And every other of those 1000 donors the same? That's a lot of lettuce, the economy sucks, my employer is for sale, I am not going to pony up that kind of cash for a bounty. After the iFusion disappointment, and seeing prepay people lose their investments in Cyberstorm-G4 and BoXeR, I really don't want to pre-pay that kind of money, I want to wait and see if the result worth putting any money into and buy it when it's done.

If I'm going to be putting $500 levels of money into something, I want ownership shares, dividends, something in return. It's not going to be a gift. I'll donate up to $50 gifts, but I don't expect to gift more than that for a project. (that is NOT a pledge of $50 to this goal, that is an example of what I might gift for something I really think is important such as toward the Java classes bounty, whch we'll need for AmigaOS API on any CPU)

Last edited by billt on 26-Mar-2009 at 02:36 PM.

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@HenryCase

for gods sake, just use AROS.

@newlight

because whereas a conversion to x86 would cost Hyp whatever it costs them, games cost literally millions of dollars to develop. Companies that create those games must recoup those costs, and licensing the game for another platform (even the engine) is one route they can recoup by leaps and bounds.

There's a reason that, despite the fact that there are millions upon millions of Linux users (compared to perhaps a thousand to two thousand OS4 users) you don't see even the first Half Life ported to Linux. The Source engine costs, IIRC, $500k - just for the engine. Forget textures, game code, etc.

If it came down to it and Hyp could port it? YES YES A THOUSAND TIMES OVER, YES, GET THE HELL AWAY FROM PPC ALREADY.

Unfortunately, and people seem to be overlooking this, they were not authorized to put OS4 on anything except what Amiga, Inc. told them they could. Until such a consideration ends (assuming it hasn't), that won't change.

Last edited by TheDungeonDelver on 26-Mar-2009 at 02:37 PM.

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@jahc

>>for gods sake, just use AROS.



Nice one...

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Yes AROS is where the x86 investment is... Glad to hear it being said!

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@HenryCase

I'd buy shares in Hyperion, public or otherwise, but why would anyone donate money to a for-profit venture? You'll see no return. Give your money to an open source developer.

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@Trev

Quote:

Trev wrote: @HenryCase I'd buy shares in Hyperion, public or otherwise, but why would anyone donate money to a for-profit venture? You'll see no return. Give your money to an open source developer.

True enough!
Perhaps if the AROS bounties get high enough, the OS 4 developers will pick them up...

@HenryCase

It will not get one single penny from me. I do not want x86 anywhere near my Amigas.

@number6

Quote:

number6 wrote: @SHADES Quote: By the way, I know there is an issue here against x86 for whatever reason One reason I've read that you fail to address as of yet is the licensing agreement, which lacks that option. If your argument is that they already broke the original licensing agreement, ergo why not go a step further, then you really are spinning your wheels until you hear a legal opinion on whether that represents a greater risk than what has already been done regarding Hyperions' current interpretation of the original contract. #6

No, I think I addressed that issue. It's in another thread about x86 however so i'll recap.
It would need the people who own the OS and are able to make the decision to allow it.
Hopefully, that will occur or a suitable alternative would be clealry communicated with a timeline of under 30 years ;)

Last edited by SHADES on 26-Mar-2009 at 03:20 PM.

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